News

To celebrate the World Forest Day, Macao Post and Telecommunications Bureau announces that a Temporary Post Counter will be set up at Senado Square, at 10:00 to 18:00 on 21^st March 2017 providing the commemorative postmark cancellation service for the “World Forest Day”.A commemorative envelope will be distributed to public, and various philatelic products will also be available for sale during the above activity.Besides, Macao Post and Telecommunications Bureau will distribute the above-mentioned envelope on 17^thto 20^th March at General Post Office and all post offices.Welcome to visit us and collect Macao Stamps.
…

The Monetary Authority of Macao (AMCM) raised the Base Rate of the Discount Window today (16 March) from 1.0% to 1.25%.The US Federal Reserve decided to raise the Fed funds rate by 25 basis points to 0.75%-1.0% on 15 March (US time). Since the Hong Kong dollar is linked to the US dollar, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority adjusted upwardly the Base Rate of the Discount Window by 25 basis points today. Meanwhile, as the pataca is linked to the Hong Kong dollar, the movements of policy rates in Hong Kong and Macao should be basically consistent in order to maintain the effective operation of the linked exchange rate system between the two SARs. As a result, the AMCM correspondingly raised the Base Rate by 25 basis points. Macao’s interest rates on the retail level, including loan and deposit rates, would be influenced by future developments in the money market. Although Macao’s money market rates are relatively stable at the moment, the likelihood of higher loan and deposit rates would be increased over the year if the USA continues to raise its interest rates as expected. Alongside the up-cycle of interest rates, Macao banks should continue to manage and control the potential risks associated with interest-rate adjustments. Meanwhile, the SAR Government reminds residents to assess prudentially their financial positions, including the effect of rising interest rates on extra burden on their mortgage payments. Those who consider using new mortgages for property purchase or investment should act within their means. The AMCM will continue to monitor the development of the global financial market, especially the impacts of rising interest rates on local asset prices and the SAR’s financial system. The AMCM will maintain close communication with the banking industry to safeguard Macao’s financial stability.
…

Consumer Council conducted its third ‘Supermarket price survey’ in March on 15 March for the implementation of Section 2b), Article 10, Law 4/95/M of 12 June. Surveyed locations included 14 supermarkets in Toi San, Ilha Verde and Fai Chi Kei areas in N. Sra. de Fátima Parish.The latest ‘Supermarket Price Survey’ is now available on Consumer Council’s website (www.consumer.gov.mo), ‘Supermarket Price Information Platform’ iPhone and Android apps, and on the Council’s WeChat account page. The survey is also available free of charge at the offices of Consumer Council, IACM’s Iao Hon and S. Domingos Markets, bookstores and libraries.With reference to the local seven parishes and the number of supermarkets in each parish, the Council has divided around 100 supermarkets into 8 areas for price collection. The Council collects prices from these supermarkets for the provision of a more comprehensive database for consumers to check price discrepancies and make price comparisons according to their desired locations.For inquiry, please call 8988 9315.
…

Considering the public’s overwhelming response to the 28^thMacao Arts Festival (MAF), the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC, from the Portuguese acronym) is organising additional performances for the most sought-after shows, which will be on sale from 16 March (Thursday). Early bird discounts on tickets is only available until 19 March (Sunday). Tickets are limited and subject to availability.A number of programmes were highly sought after, and therefore the organiser offers additional performances for the following shows: the soundscape theatre play Back to the Catastrophic Typhoon of 1874, on 30 April at 3pm; the children’s musical Metamorphosis under Starry Night, on 12 May at 8pm; Songs of Migrants, on 14 May at 3pm; and Miss Revolutionary Idol Berserker, on 20 and 21 May at 3pm. Tickets for these additional performances will be available from 10am on 16 March (Thursday) at the Macau Ticketing Network outlets. Tickets may also be purchased through the internet or by telephone.Various types of discounts are offered in this edition of the MAF. An early bird 30% discount is offered before 19 March, subject to certain criteria, and a 20% discount is offered from 20 March onwards. Holders of BOC Credit Card or BOC card will receive a 30% discount on tickets for the opening and closing performances, Play and Play: An Evening of Movement and Musicand The Seagull, as well as a 20% discount on all other shows. For more information about the performances, ticket purchase and other discounts, please check the 28^th Macao Arts Festival Booklet; the booklet PDF version can be download at www.icm.gov.mo/fam, follow the MAF’s page on Facebook or subscribe to IC’s WeChat account. Ticket reservation: 2855 5555. Online ticket reservation: www.macauticket.com.
…

Consumers use the internet to manage finances, to collect market information, and to buy products and services from all over the world, online consumption has become a trend in the digital age. Meanwhile, protection of consumers using this kind of new service, and the consumer rights of this kind of transaction have become a major issue of consumer organizations worldwide.2017 Annual Theme: Building a Digital World Consumers Can TrustConsumer International (CI) announced the theme of this year’s ‘World Consumers Rights Day’ on 15^th March 2017 as ‘Building a Digital World Consumers Can Trust’, and called on consumer organizations worldwide to raise awareness around the world. The internet involves issues such as security and claimsAccording to the CI, the development of internet services enable consumers to get access to information more quickly and easily, thus making more, and better choices, however, the consumer rights involved during this development, which includes the fairness and safety of consumers using these services, security of the payment platform, privacy of personal information, etc., relate to a series of problems such as the right to claim of consumers and how they can claim; all these brought challenges to works on consumer rights and consumer protection, and to governments worldwide when establishing regulations on the development of digital technology.CI calls upon the building of a digital economic environment with confidenceThe CI points out that in this age of rapid developments in digital technology, the co-operation between global consumer organizations and governments to tackle the boundaryless characteristics of the internet is essential to building a thriving and trusted digital economy where consumers can benefit.The CI has a list of working plans, and calls on countries worldwide to work together and set a standard for enhancing consumers’ confidence and rights in online shopping, these include consumers’ access to an affordable, good quality and reliable internet connection, consumers’ access to accurate and meaningful information that enables them to choose digital providers, products and services in a competitive market, the building of a secure online environment for transaction and privacy, etc., and requiring business operators to take greater responsibility in solving consumers’ problems.Through global co-operation, the CI aims to build a flourishing digital economy with accountability where both consumers and businesses can benefit from.Consumer Council strengthens work on consumer protectionThe CI is an independent and non-governmental organization, with over 200 Member organizations in over 100 countries, Macao Consumer Council became an official member of the CI in 1997.The Consumer Council pays attention to issues such as online shopping and the relevant consumer rights, consumer education work has been carried out in recent years to teach consumers the right concept, information, and methods of online shopping. Meanwhile, the Council is considering to expand its ‘Certified Shop’ mechanism by including online shops as ‘Certified Shops’.Safeguarding online consumption became theme of the year of the MainlandChina Consumers Association has named “Network Integrity, Worry-free Consumption” theme of the year. The Association interprets the connotation of the theme: 1) To strengthen the sense of responsibility of network operators; 2) To establish and improve systems for the protection of the rights and interests of consumers in terms of the right to know, right of claim, trading right and security right of network consumers; 3) To organize social supervision and act as a bridge, to build a platform for social co-governance of network consumer protection, to build close network community with a common future, and to construct a guaranteed network consumption environment.
…

The “Anschlag Berlin──Poster Design from Berlin” exhibition, organised by the Cultural Affairs Bureau, was inaugurated at the Tap Seac Gallery, featuring a total of 70 posters by 35 designers from several Berlin-based design studios. The opening ceremony of the exhibition was held on 14 March (Tuesday) at 6:30pm, at the Tap Seac Gallery, and was officiated by the President of the Cultural Affairs Bureau of the Macao S.A.R. Government, Leung Hio Ming; the Assistant of the Chief of the Department of Education and Culture of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Macao S.A.R., He Gang; the Director of the School of Arts of the Macao Polytechnic Institute, Hsu Hsiu-Chu; the Chairman of the Macau Designers Association, Chu Cheok Son; and the curator of the exhibition, Dr. Jianping He.Berlin, with its rich historical background and cultural uniqueness, provides an open environment for designers, enhancing their creativity and allowing the coexistence of multiple ideas regarding design. The posters featured in this exhibition are works inspired by the Zeitgeist Movement and contemporary Berlin, created by exceptional contemporary designers from renowned Berlin-based design studios, including Cyan, LSD, HeSign, EPS51, Ruddigkeit, Ariane Spanier, Fons Hickmann m23, Surface, among others. The exhibition includes posters relating to art exhibitions, festivals, concerts, performances and social issues. By sharing works that blend art and design, the Cultural Affairs Bureau hopes to provide a source of inspiration and an exchange opportunity for Macao design professionals.In order to allow for a more in-depth understanding of this exhibition and Berlin’s graphic design world, the Cultural Affairs Bureau will also organize a seminar entitled “From Berlin to Macau: Designer’s stage”, which will be held on 15 March (Wednesday) from 6:30pm to 9:30pm, at the Tap Seac Gallery. The curators of the exhibition will present the works on display and share their creative experiences as guest speakers.The “Anschlag Berlin──Poster Design from Berlin” exhibition will be held from 15 March to 14 May, at Tap Seac Gallery. Admission is free. The Gallery is located at No. 95, Avenida do Conselheiro Ferreira de Almeida, and is open daily from 10am to 9pm. For more information about the exhibition and the seminar, please contact IC through tel. no. 8988 4000 during office hours.
…

The date for the Legislative Assembly election has been set for 17 September 2017, according to Executive Order No. 50/2017.A separate Executive Order, No. 49/2017 – published in the Macao SAR Gazette on Monday (13 March) – set the spending cap for each campaigning team for the Legislative Assembly election at 3,549,622 patacas (three million, five hundred and forty nine thousand, and six hundred and twenty two patacas).The maximum expenditure for each campaigning team was based on a number of factors, including: the latest official estimate of Macao’s total population; the total number of registered voters; and the city’s economic development.The spending cap per campaigning team should be set at less than 0.004 percent of the Government’s annual average revenue for the past 10 years – as set in the annual Government Budget – according to the Legislative Assembly Election Law.The Legislative Assembly Election Law stipulates that only political associations and nomination committees have the right to nominate candidate lists for the process of direct election to the Legislative Assembly. Nomination committees must contain 300 to 500 voters, and the names of those people must be on the official list of natural person voters.Persons interested in setting up a nomination committee can submit an application to the Electoral Affairs Commission for the Legislative Assembly Election, during the period from Thursday (16 March) to 20 June.Regarding the indirect election for the Legislative Assembly, each nomination committee must be formed by at least 20 percent of the associations in the respective functional constituency. The official lists of natural person voters and of those legal person voters were both published in January.In addition, the Electoral Affairs Commission for the Legislative Assembly Election is to arrange a briefing in early April to introduce the election regulations and election process to all interested parties. Subsequent to the announcement of the date of the election, the Commission will organise a series of promotional activities related to the election.At the end of 2016, the number of natural person voters was 307,020, an increase of 10.78 percent, or 29,867 people, compared with the 277,153 natural person voters at the end of 2012. The number of legal person voters for the indirect election remained unchanged at 858.
…

For the implementation of Section 2b), Article 10, Law 4/95/M of 12 June, Consumer Council collected prices of fresh pork from wet markets and supermarkets on 14 March. The mentioned data collected during 8 March to 14 March are used for comparing the average selling prices of fresh pork and vegetables from Zhuhai, and also for comparing the average prices of the two food items from Zhuhai, Hong Kong, and Macao in the previous month. The relevant data has been uploaded to the Council’s website for consumers’ reference.The specific price surveys on fresh pork and vegetables are now available on the Council’s website (www.consumer.gov.mo), iPhone & Android ‘Supermarket Price Information Platform’ app, and the Council’s WeChat Account page. The relevant surveys include the average selling prices of local fresh pork and vegetables, and comparison on the respective average selling prices from Zhuhai, Hong Kong and Macao.For enquiry, please call 8988 9315.
…

Consumer Council conducted its second ‘Supermarket price survey’ in March on 14 March for the implementation of Section 2b), Article 10, Law 4/95/M of 12 June. Surveyed locations included supermarkets near Iao Hon Market and the Border Gate area (Portas do Cerco ) in N. Sra. de Fátima Parish.The latest ‘Supermarket Price Survey’ is now available on Consumer Council’s website (www.consumer.gov.mo), ‘Supermarket Price Information Platform’ iPhone and Android apps, and on the Council’s WeChat account page. The survey is also available free of charge at the offices of Consumer Council, IACM’s Iao Hon and S. Domingos Markets, bookstores and libraries.With reference to the local seven parishes and the number of supermarkets in each parish, the Council has divided around 100 supermarkets into 8 areas for price collection. The Council collects prices from these supermarkets for the provision of a more comprehensive database for consumers to check price discrepancies and make price comparisons according to their desired locations.For inquiry, please call 8988 9315.
…

The Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) released results of the Survey on Manpower Needs and Wages for the fourth quarter of 2016. Survey coverage comprises Wholesale & Retail Trade; Transport, Storage & Communications; Security Activities and Public Sewage & Refuse Disposal Activities; however, own-account workers are excluded.At the end of the fourth quarter of 2016, Wholesale & Retail Trade had 57,845 persons engaged, up by 3.6% year-on-year, with 36,256 working in Retail Trade. In December 2016, average earnings (excluding bonuses) of full-time employees rose by 2.6% year-on-year to MOP12,800.Transport, Storage & Communications had 11,184 persons engaged, up by 8.4% year-on-year. Average earnings of full-time employees in December rose by 1.8% year-on-year to MOP20,870.Security Activities had 10,606 persons engaged, down slightly by 0.1% year-on-year. Average earnings of full-time employees in December rose by 4.5% year-on-year to MOP13,030.Public Sewage & Refuse Disposal Activities had 860 persons engaged, up by 1.1% year-on-year. Average earnings of full-time employees in December increased by 8.4% year-on-year to MOP17,730.At the end of the fourth quarter of 2016, Wholesale & Retail Trade had 4,108 vacancies (59.9% in Retail Trade), up by 328 year-on-year. Vacancies in Security Activities fell by 199 to 1,051.In terms of recruitment prerequisites, the majority of the vacancies in Security Activities (81.5%), Transport, Storage & Communications (59.6%) and Wholesale & Retail Trade (53.9%) required only junior secondary education or lower. As for language skills, 86.5% and 52.0% of the vacancies in Retail Trade required knowledge of Mandarin and English respectively; the corresponding rates in Security Activitieswere 66.6% and 44.1%.In the fourth quarter of 2016, the recruitment rate (6.4%) in Retail Trade rose by 1.3 percentage points year-on-year, while the vacancy rate (7.8%) fell by 0.4 percentage points, suggesting that some of the vacancies had already been filled. In addition, the vacancy rate (6.6%) and the recruitment rate (3.8%) in Transport, Storage & Communications dropped by 2.1 and 1.5 percentage points respectively year-on-year, while the turnover rate (3.5%) was similar to that from a year earlier, indicating a decrease in demand for human resources. As for Security Activities, the vacancy rate (9.4%) and the recruitment rate (5.0%) fell by 1.5 and 0.4 percentage points respectively, while the turnover rate (5.6%) went up by 0.9 percentage points, indicating that some of the vacancies had not been filled.As regards vocational training in the surveyed industries, a total of 16,293 participants attended 1,016 training courses provided by the establishments in the fourth quarter of 2016 (including courses organised by the establishments or in conjunction with other institutions, and those sponsored by the employer); 54.8% of the establishments in Security Activities and 50.0% of those in Public Sewage & Refuse Disposal Activities provided vocational training to their employees. Wholesale & Retail Trade had the largest number of participants (9,147), attending a total of 688 training courses. Analysed by course type, 66.3% of the participants from Wholesale & Retail Trade and 60.1% of those from Security Activities attended courses in “Business & Administration”. All the industries had over 80% of their participants attending courses paid by the establishments.
…